PSYC 211 Chapter 1: Chapter 1.docx

• School: McGill University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 211
• Professor: Yogita Chudasama

Document Summary

Caused by damage to a particular part of the brain, is known as blindsight. Our behavior can be guided by sensory information of which we are completely unaware. The human brain contains not one but several mechanisms involved in vision. Mammalian system seems to be the one that is respon- sible for our ability to perceive the world around us. Visual information can control behavior without producing a conscious sensation. The phenome- non of blindsight suggests that consciousness is not a general property of all parts of the brain; some parts of the brain, but not others, play a special role in consciousness. The prim- itive system, which evolved before the development of brain mechanisms that give rise to consciousness, does not have these connections, so we are not conscious of the visual information it detects. It does have connections with the parts of the brain responsible for controlling hand movements.